It Just Felt Right
by Mrs Rosa Riddle
Summary: When Bellatrix Lestrange becomes a professor at Hogwarts, Hermione is comforted by somebody she once hated. Contains femslash! Please R&R, I really appreciate feedback, good or bad. Chapter 15 added.
1. The First Meeting

Authors note: If you don't like hurt/comfort fics or femslash then you probably shouldn't read this fic because it will contain a lot of angst (not in the first few chapters though, I'm trying to make it fairly long). Please R&R, as always I would greatly appreciate feedback.

Lots of love,

Charlotte (RedButtons) xx

Chapter One

Hermione hated Bellatrix Lestrange. No, she didn't just hate her, she hated her with a strong passion, in fact she detested her, she didn't think that the woman, that selfish, murdering monster that had caused so many people pain, deserved to live. In fact, she was certain that there was nothing she would love more than to see her get killed, to see the tears roll down her pale, sunken cheeks as she fell to the floor, writhing and begging for mercy.

_How sadistic, you're becoming the woman for Merlin's sake!_

_SHUT UP brain, your meant to be studying, not thinking about Bellatrix Lestrange_

She found that she had been doing that a lot recently, that is thinking about Bellatrix Lestrange, not being sadistic. She didn't know why she thought about Bellatrix all the time, sure she hated her, but she hated Voldemort as well and she hardly ever thought about him. 'It must just be because of the whole torture thing at Malfoy manor, it's probably still fresh in my mind' she reasoned with herself…but she knew that wasn't the real reason, not really.

Hermione absent-mindedly chewed on her quill as she brooded, taking a 5-minute break from studying so she could actually _think _about something. She didn't get much time to daydream anymore, ever since Harry and Ron died after killing the dark lord, she threw herself into studying so she didn't have time to grieve over her lost friends. Well they were much more than friends to her, they were practically her brothers, ever since they had died she hadn't smiled once, she had nothing to live for anymore. Hermione never did anything for herself anymore, she hardly ate or slept, just cast a glamour charm on herself to stop the concerned looks that came from her professors. Without the glamour she looked awful, her pain-filled eyes looked huge in her now tiny face, the tiny face that now always looked blank and expressionless, her hair was lank and dull, and she was so thin and fragile that it looked like her arms and legs could snap off at any second.

It wasn't that she had stopped eating because she was grieving, it was simply because she didn't have time anymore, she didn't have time to sleep either, and even with the glamour, the ugly, dark bags that were ever-present under her eyes were always visible. She usually fell asleep in the middle of studying now, at about 3 '0 clock in the morning her head and shoulders would start to droop with exhaustion and she would fall asleep with her work acting as a pillow, often turning up to class the next morning with ink smeared across her face. No one said anything to her, they all felt sorry for her now, even Draco had stopped calling her a mudblood. She was disappointed in a way, she would have liked at least one thing to seem normal.

Hermione had fell asleep on her work again, she was just in the middle of a lovely, dreamless sleep when she felt a hand gently shake her shoulder, and unfortunately she was being woken up. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, glaring through bleary eyes at whoever had ruined her slumber. It was only dumbledore, standing over her and twinkling as normal. "Miss Granger, I was wondering if I could see you for a moment in my office?" it was clearly not a request, so Hermione grumbled something incoherent and reluctantly followed the Headmaster, through the corridors of Hogwarts, to his office.

She couldn't have ever been prepared for the sight that greeted her, for there, sitting casually in one of the Headmaster's chairs (and looking better than ever), was Bellatrix Lestrange.


	2. Confusion

Chapter Two

First Hermione felt confusion, she had just woken up after all, and then she felt disgusted, disgusted at being in the very same room as Bellatrix. "Lestrange" she spat, glaring at Bellatrix with as much fierceness as she could muster, "what the fuck are you doing here?". She had to admit, begrudgingly, that Bellatrix looked a lot better than the last time she saw her. Her skin looked a bit healthier now, almost radiant, and her previously gaunt face was now fresh and somehow prettier. Her hair, although still extremely curly, wasn't as untidy as before, and so because of this, she no longer bore the slight resemblance to Amy Winehouse.

Bellatrix cleared her throat, bringing Hermione out of her reverie. "It's actually Black now" she said in a casual tone, looking Hermione up and down, "and I'd watch my language if I were you Miss Granger, I don't appreciate being sworn at by my future students". Hermione allowed a confused look to cross her face for a moment, then she looked at the beaming, ever-twinkling Dumbledore and instantly figured out what happened. "Oh no" she groaned, putting her head in her hands, half out of tiredness and half out of exasperation. She looked over to Dumbledore, who was trying to seem innocent, but Hermione knew better. The cruel little bastard was probably having a right old giggle inside his twisted mind at his latest evil and totally pointless plan.

"Lemon drop, Hermione?" he asked politely, holding out a small candy-dish.

Don't kill him, don't kill him, stay calm, a killing curse looks tempting at the minute but you'll got to Azkaban if kill him.

"Would you mind telling me why _she_" Hermione pointed at Bellatrix, refusing to address her as anything that could be considered remotely respectful, "a former death-eater, is becoming a professor at Hogwarts?". Hermione waited for the ridiculous and inevitably horrible answer that was about to hit her and of course, Dumbledore was happy to oblige. "Well Miss Granger, it's quite simple really" he started, sucking on a lemon drop and unconsciously stroking his beard, "Ms Black here needed a new job, and so I offered her the new DADA position, which she happily accepted". Hermione let out a snort, but then when she saw that the old man was actually being serious, she glared furiously at both Dumbledore and Bellatrix, making sure that if looks could kill, they would both most definitely be dead.

"Now, now dear, don't ruin your pretty face with that sulky expression" Bellatrix chided, an evil smirk on her face. Hermione glared even more and refrained from casting crucio, "don't ruin Hogwarts with your presence" she retorted, grinning inwardly when she saw the cool mask of composure slip to a deathly glare for just a second. Bellatrix's smile was back as soon as it disappeared though, and she suddenly leant over Hermione so her mouth was right next to her ear, unintentionally giving the girl a view of her cleavage. Hermione bit her lip as she tried to avert her eyes, but she couldn't help gawping just a little. "I think you will my presence most beneficial, _Miss Granger_" she hissed, sending involuntary shivers down Hermione's spine. However, Hermione quickly recovered and abruptly stood up, nearly bumping her head against Bellatrix but managing to stop herself just in time. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded, trying not to sound as weak as she felt and desperately attempting to chase the image of a nice pair of breasts out of her mind. She decided that it must just be hormones. Dumbledore, who had been watching the scene unfold, 'probably with an evil grin under his beard' Hermione thought to himself, decided to intervene.

"You see Miss Granger" he began, popping yet another lemon drop into his mouth, "some of the members of staff have been a little…_concerned _about you recently, the loss of your loved ones has seemed to have affected you more than you would care to admit, we have noticed that you have not been looking after yourself properly…"

Oh no,no,no, PLEASE god, don't make this conversation go where I think it's going to go

"And so" Dumbledore continued "we have decided to leave you in the, erm, _capable _hands of Ms Black, who said she would be delighted in helping you get back into a routine". Hermione stared at the old man, who had apparently forgotten about how Bellatrix had used to be a death-eater and had nearly _killed _Hermione. Hermione knew that no matter how much she protested, thanks to Dumbledore and his meddlesome ways, she would inevitably have to stay with Bellatrix...but that didn't mean she was going to make it any easier for him.

"What if I refuse? What if I don't want to live with a death-eater? I am sick and tired of everybody making decisions for me, trying to do whats best for me, without actually asking what _I _want, how _I _feel about things!" she exploded,

'this must have been how Harry always felt' she thought to herself, feeling a pang of sadness about how she couldn't share this thought with him. Bellatrix, who had been silent for awhile, suddenly spoke,

"how _do _you feel about things, Hermione?" it was such a simple question, but there were so many complicated answers. Hermione didn't really know what she felt anymore...sad,angry,alone,tired, she had a lot of feelings that she couldn't really place or name.

"I feel...confused" Hermione replied, and she could not have gave a more truthful answer.


	3. Bellatrix The Babysitter

**Authors note: So, not much happens in this chapter, but I hope you like it anyway. I know that Dumbledore probably comes across as a bit useless in this fic so far, but I promise he'll have his golden moment later on. Oh, and in case your wondering about Hermione's remaining friends, and details about Harry and Ron died, all will be revealed! Please read and review, I want to know if I should continue and your opinions. **

**And thank-you to: Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714 and loonymoni, for all your lovely feedback!**

**lots of love,**

**Charlotte (RedButtons) xx**

Chapter Three

'Well this is a great way to spend a Friday night, stuck in Dumbledore's office with the man himself and Bellatrix Lestrange' Hermione thought to herself as she continued to steadily glare at Dumbledore, who was, by the way, completely oblivious to the fact that Hermione's eyes were practically boring holes into his forehead. She had just told Bellatrix how she truthfully felt and now she regretted it, as although she had not said anything as of yet, she surely would in the future, and the last thing she needed was sympathy from that cruel, heartless monster.

"I am NOT going to stay with _her_, she hates me, and anyway I'm fine by myself, I don't need some kind of babysitter" snarled Hermione, crossing her arms against her chest in defiance.

"Don't be so self-obsessed Granger, I do not hate you, and even if I did, I certainly would not sit on you" replied Bellatrix, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement. It was at that moment Dumbledore decided to jump in with his words of wisdom.

"Ah no, Ms Black" he said, chuckling, "a 'babysitter' ,is a muggle word for someone that looks after small children or babies".

Bellatrix smirked at Hermione, "well in that case Miss Granger, although you may not be an actual child, you do not act very responsible, so I think that actually yes, you do indeed need a 'babysitter'". Hermione stood up and stared at Bellatrix with a deathly expression. "In what way" she growled "am I not responsible?".

Bellatrix looked as if she were ready to launch into a whole list of things, but much to her disappointment, Dumbledore clapped his hands before she could get started. "Well now" he smiled, looking at a nearby clock, "I am sure that we can continue this meeting in the morning, you must have a lot of questions after all,Miss Granger, but we need our rest, so if you would just follow Bellatrix up to her quarters, and no arguing please" he said this in a gentle, but firm tone, and Hermione knew that once Dumbledore had made the effort to think of a ridiculous plan, he certainly would not be dissuaded from it. "Fine!" she snapped, as rudely as she dared, scowling as she followed Bellatrix out of the office in a bad mood.

In the corridors Bellatrix walked at a fast pace, not looking back and apparently not caring whether Hermione followed or not. Hermione had to literally run to keep up with her, but this still did not satisfy Bellatrix.

"Hurry Granger, I have not got all day, faster!" she screeched, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. She thought up all sorts of colourful insults in her head, but decided to bite her tongue, she really did not want to be spending a detention with this woman. In a matter of seconds, (thanks to Bellatrix's determined pace, and Hermione's breathless running) they arrived at Bellatrix's quarters. Bellatrix walked inside and Hermione hesitantly stood outside of the open doorway for a moment. She was just debating with herself about whether to run back to her dormitory or not, when suddenly Bellatrix popped her head out of the door.

"For Merlin's sake girl, stop standing there like a useless part and come inside" she sighed, shaking her head at Hermione, Hermione trembled a little, but stepped inside Bellatrix's quarters with reluctance.

Whatever Hermione had expected Bellatrix's quarters to look like, it certainly wasn't the cosy looking room that they were standing in. The walls were not black, surprisingly, but a rather pleasant, forest green colour. The floor was made of dark, wooden floorboards but there were a few colourful rugs to brighten it up. A variety of items, including bookshelves and wizard chess sets were dotted around the room. Two comfortable looking, leather chairs were arranged in front of a fireplace, the

fire place was black and unlit though, (Bellatrix wasn't exactly the 'roaring log-fire' type of girl). "Well then Granger, live up to your standards, does it?" asked Bellatrix, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Hermione sighed inwardly, 'oh this will be a fun year', she thought to herself. "Whatever Bellatrix, I'm going to bed" she said, sick of being insulted. "Hang on a minute, Missy" said Bellatrix, grabbing Hermione's wrist, "you must eat something first".

_How DARE she have the nerve to tell me what to do! How bloody dare she?_

"Oh, _must _I?" asked Hermione, angrily, "you can't tell me what to do, I'm not the stupid, wreckless little gryffindoor that I used to be" she snapped.

Bellatrix's patience started to be tested, and she gave Hermione her best,

do-as-I-say-or-I'll-kill-you type of look.

"You will sit at the dinner table, and eat something right now!" she yelled, pointing at the table for emphasis, "or I will be forced to take off your glamour charms to see just what your hiding, and that is a promise, young lady!". Hermione panicked for a moment, wondering how Bellatrix had realized, but she came to the conclusion that after years of being a death-eater, Bellatrix would just know when people were hiding things out of instinct.

"Go to hell, Lestrange!" she yelled, slamming out of the room into the nearest bedroom, not noticing her weakening body and Bellatrix's wand at her back.

One thing that you could be sure of about Bellatrix Lestrange (or Black), was that she always kept her promises.


	4. Unexpected Laughs

**Authors note: I finally finished chapter four. I must say that I'm not quite happy with this chapter, I do understand that the events that take place may seem a tad rushed and unrealistic, but I needed to hurry things up a little because I didn't want to drag on Hermione & Bellatrix arguing for too long. So, they both just have a small joke together, which hopefully you will like. As always reviews would be appreciated, maybe people could give me an idea of what type of things they want to happen. Hope you enjoy.**

**Lots and lots of love,**

**RedButtons. xx**

Chapter Four

Hermione yawned as she snuggled into the...soft blankets? The last thing she remembered, she was angrily reading a potions book after her argument with Bellatrix, and then she couldn't really recall. She must have fell asleep and Bellatrix had obviously tucked her in, how sweet – not! She looked down to see, with a lot of relief, that she still had yesterdays clothes on...but something wasn't quite right. With surprising fastness, she shot out of bed and across the room, where a long, ornate mirror stood.

Awful was the only way to describe how she looked. She didn't even recognize the person that was looking back at her. She supposed in some ways, that it was a 'wake-up call', but that still did not give Bellatrix the excuse to take of the glamour charms without her permission. As the events of last night came slowly back to her, she vaguely remembered Bellatrix yelling something along the lines, but she had thought it was just an idle threat. Apparently not.

_'Oh shit! That spiteful, wicked woman,how very dare she, I'll show her!'_

As it was still morning, Hermione had to use a lot of concentration to try and re-cast the charms, but for some reason, it wasn't quite working. She concentrated even harder, feeling more and more desperate, but still, nothing happened. 'She must have cast some sort of resistance spell, oh how I hate her!' she thought to herself, sighing dramatically as she sunk down into a nearby chair. Just as she was about to wonder where her clothes were, she spotted her trunk situated at the end of the bed. She felt a spark of fury, she detested being treated this way, people making plans involving her behind her back, and people rummaging through her possessions and meddling into her business. It was a good job that she had a sensible nature, as otherwise she probably would have ran up to Bellatrix and cast a killing curse on her. The thought was extremely tempting.

Hermione forced herself to perform a few breathing exercises, and to be fair, she did feel a lot calmer by the time she had finished. She decided that she would have a nice, hot shower, get dressed into some fresh clothes, and then politely, but firmly, explain to Bellatrix that she would have to remove the spell and restore the glamour charms. Luckily, the room that Hermione was staying in (or rather, stormed in and claimed last night) had an in-suite bathroom, so there was no risks of bumping into her new 'room-mate' any time soon. Hermione let herself relax under the shower for a while, the warm water felt good as it ran over her skin, making her feel refreshed yet sleepy at the same time. Then, the fun was over as soon as it started, she started to hear the voices of her 'friends' again, sometimes it was Luna, Ginny or Lavender, but this time it was the voices she least liked to hear, Harry and Ron.

"_**What is she doing?" Ron asked curiously, Harry rolled his eyes at Ron and sneered at Hermione. "Isn't it obvious what she's doing? She's relaxing, having a lovely time, forgetting all about her friends" Harry glared at Hermione as he said this, making her heart literally ache in her chest. Tears seeped freely down her cheeks, she did nothing to hide them, Ron and Harry laughed at her self-pity. Ron started to cry too, howling in pain and despair. "She killed us, Harry, it was all her fault" he choked out, in-between sobs. Harry pulled his carrot-haired friend into an embrace, and started to cry as well. "I know it was Ron, all her fault, murderer, MURDERER!" he screamed, they both refused to look at Hermione now, to acknowledge her presence, but she still heard the word, chanting again and again in her head, "MURDERER!", and she knew that it was true, she was a murderer.**_

Hermione gasped as she came out of her thoughts, suddenly aware of where she was. It was OK, she was in the shower, she was safe, at least for now. She panicked slightly as she felt her wet face, remembering how she had always promised herself that she would never cry, but thank goodness it was just the moisture from the shower. She got out of the shower and dressed quietly, mumbling only one thing to herself as she exited her room, "it was all my fault".

When Hermione entered the main room, she instantly spotted a black-clothed figure sat at the table, Bellatrix. The elder witch looked like she was lost in daydreams of her own, staring up at the ceiling with a faraway look in her eyes, but she snapped back to reality as she heard Hermione enter the room. She stole a quick glance at the girl, who in all honesty, looked absolutely terrible. It wasn't only because the glamour charms were gone and she was back to her real appearance, it was also largely because of the pained look in her eyes, dangerously helpless and vulnerable. She was surprised when the girl spoke first, but also thankful as she didn't have a clue how to start up a conversation.

"Good morning, Ms Black", the girl mumbled in a quiet but respectful tone of voice. Bellatrix was glad that she hadn't addressed her a professor, she was not looking forward to being called this by her students, she was certain it would make her feel like an old woman. She then remembered the girl stood in front of her, and gave her what she hoped was a friendly smile.

"Good morning to you, Miss Granger, or would you prefer to be called Hermione?" she questioned, secretly hoping that it was the less formal option, politeness was of course necessary, but formality never did put her at ease.

"Hermione would be fine", replied the girl, sitting down opposite to Bellatrix. Hermione did not smile, but managed an understanding nod. Bellatrix nodded silently and started to examine her fingernails, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy. She had only ever called the girl by her first name once, the previous night in Dumbledore's office, but that had slipped out unintentionally, as she had found herself rather caught up in the girls emotions as well as some of her own.

"So, Hermione" she said casually, rolling the word around on her tongue as if it were some exquisite sweet, "how did you sleep?". She really had no idea of what to talk about, she knew sooner or later she would have to deal with the girls complaints about the glamour charms and then force her to eat some breakfast, but she was trying to put that moment off for as long as possible.

"I slept very well, thank you" Hermione replied in a well-mannered tone, Bellatrix could tell from years of being a death-eater that the girl was lying, and she could also tell that something (apart from obviously looking in the mirror) had happened since she had woken up to upset her, but she decided not to press her for information just yet, and instead take matters slowly. Bellatrix could tell that Hermione was working up the courage to start an argument about the glamour charms, and decided, with unusual trepidation, to try to stop the situation before it even started.

"Look Granger, I mean Hermione, I know that you are probably furious about me taking of your glamour charms and such, but I need to know you are not going to drop dead on me, it would not look good to try and explain to Dumbledore, and quite frankly, I really don't want to spend more time talking to the meddlesome old fool than I have to, the other day he suggested I start wearing more brightly coloured clothing so I could 'put my students at ease', ridiculous old fool". Oops, that had not come out quite the way she had planned. However, before Bellatrix could apologize, much to her shock and relief, Hermione started laughing. Bellatrix did not quite know why, but she loved this new, foreign sound of Hermione laughing. She suspected that the girl had not laughed in such a long time, and it filled her with a strange sense of pride that she, Bellatrix Black, was the one to cause such beautiful laughter. Then, Bellatrix felt a hint of confusion, she did not know why Hermione was laughing, she had not even told her a joke, just blurted out what was on her mind at that moment.

"Why are you laughing?" she questioned, blinking at the girl as she once again tried, and failed, to compose herself. This set off Hermione laughing even more, because for one blissful moment, Hermione forgot about the voices in the shower, the nightmares in the bed, the reflection in the mirror. Just seeing Bellatrix stare at her in oblivious puzzlement made her want to start chuckling again. "I could just picture you..." she spluttered, conjuring up the image once more in her mind, "shouting at students...wearing pink" . Bellatrix shuddered dramatically at the though of wearing such a disgusting colour, but could not suppress a little giggle at the mental image. After Bellatrix recovered, she gave Hermione her most serious look, "Do not" she started, in a grave tone of voice, "make me thing of such a horrific occurrence". She knew that even though they were laughing now, there would be many arguments between herself and the younger girl soon, but she sincerely hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that they could overcome them, and hopefully come to an understanding. Much to her disgust...she was beginning to develop certain feelings for the girl.


	5. Rejected

**Authors note: Arrgh I had no clue how to word this chapter, sorry if Bellatrix seems to be out of character, but I need her to become more 'soft' and 'understanding' for this fic to work, (not too soft though, lets face it she's never going to be 'cuddly' or sweet'), I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Thanks to – Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonimoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13 and kriszti7 for all your reviews. **

**You all make very me emotional (I'm not even joking, I think I feel a little tear come to my eye). **

**Love from,**

**RedButtons xx**

Chapter Five

Bellatrix sighed as she stared at her book, not really paying any attention to the words. After attempting to read a few more pages, she snapped the book shut with a defeated sigh and slid it back into it's place on the shelf. Do not be mistaken, she did enjoy reading, in fact she had quite a passion for it, but for some reason, this morning she just could not concentrate. Bellatrix sighed once more (something of a habit that she had unfortunately acquired recently) and absent-mindedly rubbed the space between her eyebrows, she was tired, that was why everything seemed so blurry this morning. She was usually quite a heavy sleeper, but last night she had been kept awake by a certain somebody's yelling. She had thought the girl had been screaming to get on her nerves , and so barged into her bedroom, prepared to give her a lecture. When she saw Hermione thrashing around in bed with her eyes closed, it dawned on her that she was having a nightmare.

Bellatrix wondered whether to wake her up or not, she tried shouting the girls name a few times, but to no avail, her eyes stayed firmly shut, even when the elder witch shook her fiercely. Hermione's screaming was so loud, that it made even Bellatrix, the very definition of ruthless and unshakeable , wince slightly. Regardless of the pain it caused her ears, she had sat down cautiously on the edge of the bed, and after much debating with herself, gently interlaced the girls sweaty fingers with her own. It might of just been her imagination, but it seemed to her that the simple but awkward gesture had unconsciously calmed Hermione slightly, and her screams seemed to grow quieter as her movements lessened.

Suddenly, the sound of a door creaking open brought her out of her reverie, and Bellatrix looked upwards to see an open-mouthed Hermione Granger staring at her. She peered around the room to see what had finally rendered the girl speechless, then when she looked down she realized. She had foolishly forgotten to get dressed before coming into the main room, and now realized that she was wearing only a black, short, silken dressing gown, that hung lazily open to reveal her flimsy underwear, (underwear that left little to the imagination).

_Oh damn it to hell, as well as hating me, the girl now certainly thinks I'm a perverted exhibitionist...which, judging by some of the thoughts I've had recently, I probably am._

Bellatrix gasped for a moment and then, coming to her senses, knotted her dressing-gown back up, recovering at least some of her modesty. Was it just her imagination, or could she see a hint of...disappointment in the girls eyes? She quickly shook the feeling off and stood up, crossing her arms across her chest self-consciously, suddenly realizing just how low-cut the dressing-gown actually was. Still, in fairness, it wasn't like she'd pictured herself in front of a future student when she had bought the damn thing.

"I do apologize, Hermione" she said, even though deep down, she wasn't actually that sorry. "If I would have known that you were going to see me without clothes on, I would not have worn such provocative underwear".

_FUCK!_

Realizing the wrongness of what she had just said, Bellatrix blushed uncharacteristically and brought a hand to her wayward mouth. "Fuck" she said, out loud this time, "I am sorry, that is not what I intended to say".

"Er, it's fine" Hermione replied, she tried to seem indifferent, but Bellatrix could tell by her flushing cheeks that she had embarrassed the girl.

"Well then...lets have breakfast, shall we?" said Bellatrix, hoping, but doubting, that her tone sounded bright and cheerful. Yesterday Hermione had nibbled on a dry piece of toast for breakfast, skipped lunch in favour of studying, and managed a few bites of food whilst reading a textbook at dinnertime. Today, Bellatrix told herself that she would make sure the girl had a proper meal, even if she had to force-feed her. Bellatrix summoned a house-elf, and she saw the evident look of despair on Hermione's face when she lay eyes on her full plate. The girl's hands shook, and her bottom lip quivered, making her look like an innocent, upset child. "Oh for Merlin's sake" huffed Bellatrix, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "just eat some of it, if you don't like it you don't have to finish it". Hermione's hands were shaking even more violently now, and she looked as if she were about to start crying.

"B-but..." she stuttered, struggling to get her words out, "I shouldn't, they can't so I can't" she said, her lips wobbling once more.

Bellatrix frowned at the girl, wondering what on earth she meant. She saw the fear swimming in the deep brown eyes, the creases next to them suddenly looked deeper, the shadows under them darker. She exhaled, feeling her anger melt slowly away, unfortunately for her being replaced with undeniable concern. Slowly, she crossed to the other side of the table, she knelt beside Hermione and snaked an arm around the girls shoulders, keeping it there even when she felt the girl's shoulders tense beneath her touch. After a few silent minutes, Bellatrix felt Hermione start to quiver like a leaf, and she reluctantly moved her arm and studied the witch's face, trying to search it for any sign of emotion. The girl was not looking at her, she was staring at the plate of food with a hopeless expression on her face. Bellatrix decided to try regardless, she stood up and leant over the girl's plate, grabbing a knife and fork, she slowly cut up a small piece of bacon, speared it with the fork, and held the fork carefully in front of Hermione's lips. Hermione contemplated for a moment, and then cautiously opened her mouth and started to chew the piece.

This process went on until she girl had eaten two pieces of bacon and half an egg, then, the girls stomach, having not eaten such rich food in a long period of time, made an unpleasant sound. Just in time, Hermione sprung up abruptly from her chair, darted over to the kitchen sink, and proceeded to be violently sick. Bellatrix began to feel slightly queasy herself at the sound, but she managed to hold the girls messy hair back with one hand and pat her back with the other. Hermione eventually stopped emptying the contents of her stomach out, she regained her senses and irritably batted away Bellatrix's hands, pouring herself a glass of water, she sank down into the nearest chair and threw a deathly glare at the elder witch. "I do not-" she started, gulping down the cool liquid to chase away the terrible taste, "need your sympathy". Bellatrix glared back at the girl, her glittering dark eyes squarely meeting the lighter-brown ones, but secretly, deep-down, she felt slightly hurt, as if she had been...rejected?


	6. Shocking Language

**Authors Note: Hellooo, sorry I have not updated for a few days, my computer helpfully crashed on me, and as a result I have been forced to use my Gran's computer (which is about 100 years old and doesn't have spell check). I know that this chapter is a bit cheesy, and I suppose that Hermione & Bellatrix's relationship seems to jump from one extreme to another, anyway, I think Dumbledore finally 'got told' in this chapter. Oh, and Hermione might seem a bit dramatic, but I'll try to mellow it out a bit in the future, (Bellatrix will be trying out her teaching skills in the next one, so you can see how they get on in the classroom). **

**Thanks to: Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack and Mia Constance Hardbroom.**

**I hate you all, my hands are now bleeding, how dare you have such long names (just kidding, I love you all, you are all fantastic!)**

_RedButtons. xxxx_ Oh by the way, I changed the spelling to 'Gryffindor', thank you Kriszti7, other wise I wouldn't have noticed since I don't have a Beta, so thanks again, and if any of you spot anything else then let me know and I'll change it, because I understand how frustrating it can be to read incorrect spelling in a fic. =) Chapter Six

"_Gummy-bear_" Bellatrix spat, her face wrinkling in disgust at the chosen password. The door obligingly swung open, and she entered Dumbledore's office in a swish of black skirts, closely followed by Hermione Granger. The headmaster had summoned, erm _requested_, their presence, for what he called a 'chat', but what they all knew would actually turn into an interrogation. She just hoped the girl would not mention, what she now referred to in her head as the 'underwear incident'. "Ah, professor Black, Miss Granger, take a seat wont you?" said Dumbledore in a cheery tone of voice, motioning to the two chairs that were positioned in front of his desk. "Do we have a choice?" asked Bellatrix, Dumbledore pretended not to hear the question and instead, offered both women a lemon-drop. "No, thank you" they both said simultaneously, wondering why on earth he insisted on asking people if they would like a wretched sweet. "So, will this take long then? I have things to be getting on with", Bellatrix blurted rudely, wanting to leave as soon as possible. It was not just that she could not bear the old fool's twinkling for much longer; she also was beginning to feel uncomfortable around Hermione. She did not know why, but she could not deny that whenever she was in the same room as the girl, there was an undeniably tense atmosphere. This was greatly unfortunate, as they were now practically living together. "Yes" said Hermione out loud, interrupting Bellatrix's sulking -no, brooding. "I do have some studying to be getting on with," Hermione continued, tapping her fingers on the chair arm impatiently. Watching the girl's fingernails, tap against the leather in a continuous pattern, started to drive Bellatrix insane.

"For Merlin's sake" she snapped, before she could stop herself, "always studying, every single day, find something more worthwhile to do Granger, rather than wasting your time with that bloody revision!"

'_Yes, like spending time with me!' _she thought before she could stop herself. Instead of the angry glare she expected to receive from Hermione, instead she received a sneer. A sneer. Granger was sneering at _her, _Bellatrix Black, the very nerve. "What do you suggest I do instead then, _Professor _Black?" Hermione asked, inwardly smirking when she saw Bellatrix narrow her eyes at the name.

"Oh, I don't know, whatever _children, _do nowadays", she replied, giving Hermione a nasty smile, "drink some butter beers, perform some mild dark-magic, play quidditch with your little friends". Hermione kept up her nasty smile throughout all of Bellatrix's 'suggestions', until the last one, at which her smile turned into a frown. However, she quickly regained it, and started to laugh bitterly, a sound with surprisingly unsettled Bellatrix. "Friends?" she repeated, cackling so enthusiastically it looked like she needed to be carted off to St. Mungo's, "haven't you noticed? I have no friends!" Bellatrix felt a stab of sympathy for the girl, but then remembered how the girl had rejected her sympathy, and let's just say that Bellatrix did _not _like being rejected. "Please, Granger" she snarled, her lips curling up into a sneer that overpowered Hermione's, "self-pity is _not _attractive on you", she regretted the words as soon as they escaped her lips, because she knew, deep-down, that Hermione deserved a little self-pity. Hermione's smirk changed into a glare, and she narrowed her eyes towards Bellatrix, a killing expression painted onto her normally relaxed features. Aggressively, she slammed her fists down onto the arms of her chair, and stood up abruptly, walking over to Bellatrix's chair; she towered above the woman, almost threateningly. Bellatrix could not deny that she felt slightly scared…slightly scared of _Granger_, what on earth was the world coming to?

"MAYBE I DESERVE SOME FUCKING SELF-PITY!" Hermione screamed, it was a chilling sound, a haunting sound, and so unbearably loud, that it even made Dumbledore (who had stayed unhelpfully silent throughout the whole charade) cover his ears with his hands.

Once Bellatrix had regained her hearing, she stood up and stomped over to Dumbledore's desk. "We are leaving, Miss Granger needs to calm down, and you would be a fool to think she could hold a civil conversation, in her…_distressed _state". Dumbledore, who was now sitting there looking absolutely dumbfounded, nodded silently and blinked wearily at Hermione, who was now stood motionless in the center of his office.

Back at Bellatrix's quarters, Hermione composed her face into a calm expression and she uncertainly sat beside Bellatrix on the comforting warmth of the sofa. "I'm sorry" Hermione said, staring intently at the wall that was facing her, as for some reason she felt embarrassed to look at the woman, "I totally fucked up that meeting, didn't I? I just completely lost control". Bellatrix, yet again, let out a long sigh, and rested her pointed chin in her cupped hands. "No, I'm the one that should be sorry, I started the argument, I provoked you, it was completely uncalled for and unprofessional of me, I'm sorry Miss Granger", it stung to admit this, as Bellatrix could not remember ever apologizing to anybody in her life, but if she was honest with herself, she was a little remorseful about the way she had spoken to the girl in Dumbledore's office. Hermione began to discreetly study Bellatrix's face, and then suddenly, Bellatrix turned her face in her direction and caught her. Hermione blushed and stared at the floor, wishing that it would swallow her up. "It's Hermione, remember?" she muttered, suddenly feeling slightly self-conscious as she sat next to Bellatrix. "And besides" she began, desperate to get rid of the awkward silence that had now fell between them, "I wasn't exactly _polite_ either, was I?" she admitted.

"No, you weren't", replied Bellatrix, offering Hermione a small smile, a smile that was actually genuine, and not meant to be portrayed as an evil grin. Hermione did not smile back, but she did offer her hand, for Bellatrix to shake. "This may seem cheesy, but…we are even, then?"

Bellatrix took the hand in her own, it was such a soft hand, so smooth and tender, it felt like silk touching her own rough skin, and even after she had shaken the hand in agreement and reluctantly let go, she still noticed a slightly electric feeling tingling around her palm. Suddenly, Bellatrix was experiencing feelings that she had never thought she could experience before, never had she felt like this before, not whilst in the company of Rodolphus, not even whilst she was faithfully worshipping the Dark-Lord.

"Ms Black? Ms Black?" Bellatrix looked around to glare at whoever had ripped her away from her heavenly feeling, and then seeing that it was the very person she had been thinking about, smiled slightly. "Sorry Ms Black, you looked…erm, distracted," said Hermione, wondering what Bellatrix had been thinking about to make her look so cheerful. "Yes, my apologies" she said, in a conversational tone of voice, "anyway, seen as though I have the privilege of calling you by your first name, you may address me in the same manner, if you wish to do so", Bellatrix wondered if she had overstepped the professional mark by saying this, but the bigger part of her really did not care, and she never was one to play by the rules.

"Ok, thank you...Bellatrix," said Hermione, shyly. It did not feel completely out of the ordinary to call her future professor this, because in her head, she had always referred to her as 'Bellatrix', well, when she was not making use of some carefully selected curse words, (but the majority of them began with the letter 'B' anyway, so it did not make much difference). "I'm going to bed now, see you in the morning then" she said, feeling more awkward by the second. She did not know why, but it felt as if she was indulging in something inappropriate by sitting there and talking casually with Bellatrix. Even if it was completely innocent – which it definitely was!

You like her, oh my god, you totally have a twisted crush on her, bleuggh! Shut UP thoughts, she's an evil, murdering cow, we HATE her, remember?

_Then why did it feel so good when she shook you hand then?_

_Go away…. OWWW FUCK_

Hermione cursed out loud as she banged into the edge of something. Then she realized that she had been so pre-occupied with her thoughts, that she had not noticed the lamp that she had apparently just walked into. "Are you ok?" asked Bellatrix, a slightly amused expression crossing her face when she saw Hermione glaring at the lamp, as if it were somehow the piece of furniture's fault that she wasn't looking where she was going. "Ow yeah, I'm fine, stupid fucking lamp, erm…goodnight, Bellatrix", Hermione stammered, feeling slightly foolish when she spotted the elder witch snickering into her hand. "Goodnight" replied Bellatrix, "oh, and Hermione?" she added, shaking her head at the girl's retreating back. "Yeah?", ahh it was quite endearing when the girl blushed, of course the word 'cute' would never enter into Bellatrix's thoughts, but it would be, to the outside person, quite cute indeed. However, clumsiness and curse words, betrayed the girl's innocence.

"10 points from Gryffindor, for absolutely shocking language".


	7. Teaching Is Easy!

A/N: It is very lucky for me that I finished this chapter before I got pissed, unfortunately though, I now get to write my summary in hangover-mode…yayy! I would write all your names, but I need coffee right now, so I'll do it in the next chapter, got to go now before I puke (the scary thing is, I'm not even joking) goodbye. xxxxChapter Seven

Hermione yawned and sat up in bed, stretching to chase the tired feeling out of her joints. She had just had the displeasure of experiencing another nightmare, but they didn't really feel like nightmares, they weren't particularly _scary_, they felt more like memories than nightmares, because the most disturbing factor of them was that they felt so eerily real. Trying to think of lighter topics, she quickly showered and dressed, thankfully not hearing any 'voices' this time. She knew that hearing voices was usually associated with being mentally disturbed, but she wasn't losing her sanity, just her self-respect, day by day and night by night, as every second went by, she felt an ounce more of guilt.

She knew that she would find today challenging. She had been given a break from lessons for a few days to 'get used to her surroundings' and to build her 'relationship' with Bellatrix, but that break ended today, and although she quite enjoyed lessons (they made her feel useful almost, as if she had a purpose), she did not enjoy keeping the company of other people her age. People, who she just had to look at, just had to listen to, to be reminded that she was responsible; she was responsible for the death of Harry and Ron.

Oh, various adults had patronized her, "It's not your fault" they would say "Harry and Ronald died willingly for you, out of their love and friendship, they didn't 'sacrifice' themselves for you, and they would have been killed anyway". Somehow though, it did not make a difference to Hermione what elder witches and wizards would say, even the opinions that came from the adults that she respected and admired the most, because she could never shake of the feeling that those 'opinions' were just empty lies, lies spun like finely woven thread to make her feel better.

Suddenly, a shrill voice shrieking her name, grabbed her attention. "Hermione, come here for a second, I need your help for something!" Hermione frowned in puzzlement, wondering what on earth Bellatrix Lestrange would need her help for, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she quietly slipped out of her room. Padding into the main room, she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Bellatrix sat on the sofa…buried under a mountain of robes. "What robe do you think I should wear? It's my first day of teaching, I want to make a good impression!" shouted Bellatrix, her voice sounding slightly muffled under the many folds of fabric, (she had a lot of robes). "It doesn't really matter," replied Hermione "nothing could be worse than what Lockhart used to wear, as long it's not powder blue or bright yellow, I think you should be safe" she stated, shuddering slightly as images of Lockhart swishing around in his robes came back to her.

Eww gross, I cant believe I used to have a schoolgirl crush on that jerk…not that having a schoolgirl crush on a middle-aged, ex-death eater is better

_Shut-up brain, I didn't ask for your thoughts on this matter, piss off and remember the revising we did this morning…_

"Does it look like I own any brightly coloured clothing?" hissed Bellatrix, suddenly popping up out of the mountain of material to glare at Hermione. "Well no, actually it looks like most of your…" her eyes widened as she examined the rumpled clothes that lay on the sofa, "seriously? All of them? _ALL _of your clothes are BLACK? How is that even possible? I mean, I guessed you weren't one for cheerful clothing, but seriously?" she asked, in an amazed tone of voice.

"I don't see why you so surprised, but yes, seriously" Bellatrix confirmed, "anyway, back to the matter at hand, what should I wear?" she asked, holding up a robe in either hand, (robes which were identical to all of her other robes). Hermione shrugged, eyeing the robes with an air of indifference,

"I don't know, I'm not what someone would describe as 'fashionable', anyway, I think that everyone will be too awestruck by the fact that they are being taught by Bellatrix Lestrange, to care about what you are wearing" she said truthfully. Bellatrix raised one dark eyebrow and gave Hermione an amused smirk, "perhaps I should turn up naked then," she snorted. Hermione blushed at Bellatrix's comment and tried _not _to picture the woman naked, meanwhile Bellatrix mentally cursed and resisted the urge to facepalm herself.

"Oh damn, forgot my potions textbook" Hermione lied, practically bolting to her bedroom to get it, leaving Bellatrix to sink down onto the robes-laden sofa with her head shoved firmly into her hands,

Why, oh why, do I have to blurt out whatever is running through my head at that particular moment, thus putting those around me in extremely uncomfortable situations?

Umm…because you're an idiot?

Noted!

"So, what lesson do you have first?" Bellatrix asked in a conversational tone of voice. She and Hermione were now both sitting at the breakfast table, (Bellatrix unsurprisingly clad in black robes), trying to look at anything but each other. "Erm, defense against the dark arts, with you…" she said, feeling her face grow slightly warmer. 'Damn these quarters are hot!' she thought to herself, although she knew it was anything but the temperature that was making her face flush. "Oh yes, that's right, we'd better go actually, were going to be late", Bellatrix had started to feel reluctance at leaving her quarters build up inside of her, feeling for all the world like a shy child again, but she knew that now was not the time for such bashful behavior. She had to be brave, for herself…and for Hermione too, she supposed. 'What an odd thing to cross my mind' she briefly thought, before ushering the girl out of their quarters, and beginning the short stroll to the room in which she would be teaching.

A few minutes later, was when the fun really began. "Ok children" Bellatrix began, feeling a tinge of sadistic pleasure at the shocked stared and fearful looks that she was receiving. Sneering, she pranced around the desks to narrow her eyes individually at every single student, feeling just like a performer on stage. She mentally laughed at herself for being nervous in the first place, she was born to torture…sorry, teach. "If your small, useless little brains are able to process what I am telling you" she snarled, not missing the amused look that Hermione shot her, "I would like you to at least attempt, to turn to page 190 of your textbooks…but of course if that is too hard for you dundering fools, I'd be more than happy to find you some crayons and flashcards". Rolling her eyes, she sighed as she spotted what looked like a distant relative of Neville Longbottom, quivering and shaking as they held their hand up in the air.

"For Merlin's sake, boy!" she snapped, causing the said child to let out a weak sounding whimper. "Put your hand down, you are not in some sort of muggle junior-school" she yelled, although secretly, she thought that would be a much more appropriate place for the dunderhead. "P-p-please Professor, I need, I n-need.." tears started to run down his chubby face as he struggled to pronounce his words properly, but Bellatrix, being the kind, understanding woman that she was, was not going to make it easy for the poor child. "WHAT?" she roared, dark magic hissing into the air as her face converted into a most un-attractive expression, "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU NEED, YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL?" she noticed with triumph, that several of the students, including her nephew Draco, had started to stir uncomfortably, and some more small, weaker children had started to sob.

Finally, the blithering idiot managed to stutter his words out, "I n-need, I need, the t-toilet, p-professor" he gasped, rising slightly, he began to hop from one foot to the other in desperation. Stalking around the boy like a bird with it's prey, Bellatrix leaned close to his ear, "go" she hissed, feeling slightly liberated as she heard Pansy Parkinson break down into a fit of tears, and 'brave' Ginny Weasley attempt to cast a killing curse on herself. "Go before I re-open the chamber of secrets and throw you in there myself- I hear that Filch and Mrs. Norris have opened a sex-shop down there…" the boy wailed in distress and fled out of the room, screaming loudly, Bellatrix smiled to herself and backed away, putting her hands on her hips and scanning the room and it's distressed students, not letting her eyes stop on Hermione.

'Teaching' she thought to herself, shaking her head, 'I'm a natural'.


	8. Beauty Comes In Different Forms

**A/N: This is quite a short chapter, but I didn't really intend it to be long. I suppose the relationship of Hermione and Bellatrix changes slightly in this chapter, but thankfully for the better. **

**Thank you to: Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie and . **

**RedButtons =) **

Chapter Eight

Bellatrix yawned happily as she stared idly at the sky. It was such a beautiful sky, black and stormy, rolling with grey, murky clouds, but stars twinkled merrily as well, the perfect mixture between darkness and light. 'Hermione would like this sky' she mused to herself, she could not understand why the girl spent all her time studying, she should be out being wild and wreckless with her friends, she already had top marks, studying excessively was not going to make a difference. Yes, she knew that studying was probably somewhat of a distraction from Potter and Weasley dieing, but surely having fun with friends was a more enjoyable way? Briefly, she wondered whether the girl was telling the truth about having no friends, but she decided that this just wasn't possible, and that she was probably just being over-dramatic.

Stretching her joints out lazily, she smiled to herself as she felt the wet grass delicately brush between her fingers and toes, she exhaled, basking in the exquisite and contented feeling of just simply daydreaming. She loved to daydream, loved to think up different fantasies, different worlds, different creatures all carved carefully by her vivid imagination. When she was a child, daydreaming was considered a bad habit, an idle, useless hobby, because in her parent's opinion, if daydreaming did not achieve visible results, then surely it was a pointless activity. Laughing quietly to herself, she remembered how her Mother used to shriek if she caught one of the sisters staring into space, and they used to receive a sharp rap on the knuckles, to Bellatrix, it seemed ridiculous now.

She wondered if the way she was raised, to be prejudiced and judgmental, had affected the choices she had made in later life. However, she was capable of making her own decisions, and it was not like anybody had forced her to join the Dark-Lord, she had only herself to blame for that choice. She had not done it because she wanted to kill and torture, she had joined because she wanted a respected role in society, she wanted to be powerful and feared, but there was no way to excuse the bad decisions she had made in life, and she was not going to attempt to convince people otherwise.

Suddenly a quiet cough caused her to jolt up in surprise, but then she saw that it was Hermione standing a few feet away from her, and she lay back down again, relaxing once more. "You should not be out here, its past curfew," she muttered, not really meaning what she said. "May I stay though?" Hermione enquired politely, and Bellatrix murmured her agreement. Slipping her own shoes off, Hermione padded over to where Bellatrix was lay, and sat on the wet grass gingerly, crossing her legs as she tried to get used to the feeling.

"Is it not cold, lying down?" Hermione questioned, shifting slightly as she tried to get comfortable. "No, no, it's better this way" Bellatrix replied truthfully "try it". Hermione did just that, and yelped as her back hit the grass, hunching up slightly, she shivered as her teeth started to chatter. "Your right" she gasped, folding her arms as she attempted to get warm "it's not cold, it's bloody freezing!" Bellatrix rolled her eyes even though Hermione could not see, and grabbed her cloak that lay nearby. "Here" she said, shoving the dark, velvet bundle of fabric into Hermione's arms exasperatedly "where is that courage that you are mean to possess?"

Hermione did not answer, wrapping the cloak around her shaking shoulders, she inwardly reveled in the feeling. The material felt warm and soft on her numb skin, almost as if it were gently stroking her, it hugged her shoulders, swathed them, and she felt as if she were being held in a big, black, velvety embrace. Stroking the cloak between her fingertips, her body relaxed and she relaxed into the grass, letting its blades sweep over her skin, letting her body mould into the ground. This was better than being inside studying, it was better than being in the library reading, and it was as if she were in a comfy bed, only without the nightmares. For a moment, she wished that she could be trapped in this feeling forever. "Do you like the sky?" Bellatrix wondered out loud, her soft tone of voice sent shivers down Hermione's spine, even though now she was far from cold. Letting her eyes sweep over the sky, which was both cloudy and starry, she nodded to herself. "I do" she replied, noticing how Bellatrix's body seemed to shudder slightly at her voice, "I know it should not be beautiful, but it just is somehow". Bellatrix delicately slid a fingernail down Hermione's neck, and it was so casual, that the touch could almost pass for accidental. Although the gesture shocked her, Hermione did not shrink away from the touch, but instead, leaned into it, her body shaking as the tip of the finger caressed her skin.

Hermione knew, deep down, that this was not normal, and if any other Professor had stroked her skin in this way, she would have found it slightly strange. However, to her, Bellatrix felt like more than a Professor. Hermione could not quite describe her newly found tolerance for Bellatrix, for the majority of the time; they disagreed and argued, screeching hurtful words at each other at the top of their voices. The times that Hermione spent civilly with Bellatrix, the voices of Harry and Ron, the accusing looks she received from her fellow students, and the guilt that constantly weighed her down, all seemed to become un-important and melt away, and suddenly she felt like the old, happy Hermione again, and not a shell of her former self.

"Beauty comes in different forms," Bellatrix whispered, in an almost knowing tone, and looking at the sky above her, and then at the woman that lay next to her, so relaxed and unaffected by the world, Hermione could not help but agree.


	9. Accepting Help

**A/N: Hello, sorry I haven't updated for a while, this chapter is, erm…unrealistic. ** **Thank you to - Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000.**

**I appreciate your reviews so much, you're all fantastic!**

Chapter Nine

"Hermione?"

Hermione's head snapped up at the sound of her name, it was rather strange, the way that Bellatrix said her name. Hermione noticed that she said it often; as if she could not get enough of the word, and she said it slowly, almost like savoring a sweet, letting the letters practically roll off her tongue. Nobody else said her name that way, but she rather liked it, it was almost like a secret code that she and Bellatrix shared. However, the words that Bellatrix followed her name with instantly darkened Hermione's mood.

"May I ask you a question?" Bellatrix enquired almost politely, and Hermione shuddered. Of course, it seemed like an innocent enquiry, it could lead to a question such as 'what day is it today?' or 'how do you like the weather?' But Hermione knew that a question would probably mean that Bellatrix was concerned about Hermione in one way or the other, which would inevitably lead to a heated discussion. Instead of voicing this possibility, Hermione only nodded wordlessly, dreading what was about to follow. Perhaps it would be 'have you been having nightmares?' or 'do you think you have been studying too much?'

The real question hit her with force, it was unexpected, and she did not even think that anybody had noticed. "Why is it that you don't eat in the Great Hall, or hang around with your friends?" Bellatrix wondered out loud, gazing at Hermione intently, and Hermione blushed, because for the first time since she had been staying with her, Bellatrix had made her feel pathetic. What hurt the most was that it was not even intentional.

There were many answers to the particular question. Hermione did not eat in the Great Hall or hang around with her friends both for the same reason, she had no friends. When she sat at the Gryffindor table, the rest of her housemates never dared say anything directly, but she could always tell, by the whispering and by the subtle accusations, that they all felt that she was to blame. She did not have friends anymore, ever since Harry and Ron died to save her, people just gradually drifted apart from her, and when she had tried to change this, it just happened again sooner or later. Ginny was the worst to be around, because as well as ignoring her, she looked in Hermione with an unreadable look in her eyes.

It was a look crossed between hurt, pain and anger, it was a look that made Hermione want to bury her head in her hands and sob, because whenever she looked at Ginny, she understood that she had not just killed a friend, she had killed a brother, a son, a cherished family member, and it caused her guilt to grow even stronger.

However, Hermione could not say all of this out loud, so instead she simply replied, "I do not know", and Bellatrix gave her an almost hurt look; almost as if she knew that she was being lied to. Bellatrix cleared her throat, and Hermione readied herself for the heartfelt speech.

"Hermione, I cannot say that I understand how you feel, I will never completely understand how you feel, because everybody grieves differently, but I will say this, _you have got to get over this and move on with your life_" Hermione blinked at the blunt yet truthful words, but stayed silent as she knew that Bellatrix would unfortunately have more to say.

"You might think it's your fault, but it's not, I promise you, I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life, and if anybody makes you feel that it is your fault Hermione, their not worthy of your company, they should be the ones shutting themselves away, not the other way round, you don't have to lock yourself up studying all the time, you have no reason to be ashamed" Bellatrix finished to draw breath, and Hermione stared at her in shock. Nobody had ever bothered to talk to her in this way, and she felt as if Bellatrix was actually concerned.

"I don't know how," Hermione confessed, realizing that this was true, "I don't know how to move on". Bellatrix leant her arm across the table, and boldly held Hermione's right hand in her own. Hermione's hand stiffened at the touch, but she did not move it away, and she relaxed as Bellatrix started to gently stroke the palm with her thumb.

"Let me show you Hermione, will you let me help you?" she whispered, her soft voice sending warm, gentle caresses against Hermione's skin. Hermione nodded in agreement, and for the first time since the last few months, she actually looked forward to the future.


	10. Luna The Lunatic

**A/N – There is a nice Luna in this chapter, I just can't imagine Luna being unkind, she's too much of a lunatic. **

**Thanks to: ****Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It and elfspirit7**

**Thank you for all of your feedback, and thanks for letting me know about the married name thing, I promise I'll get round to changing it at some point or other.**

_Chapter Ten_

Hermione glanced around the room, squirming uncomfortably in her seat. A few months ago, she would not have been able to picture herself in this situation, but here she was eating breakfast in the Great Hall, courtesy of Bellatrix's cruel stupidity. Taking a sip of her pumpkin juice, she tried to ignore the fact that Ginny's eyes were currently burning into her forehead. This was _awkward. _Suddenly, she spotted a flash of flamboyant colour glide past her, and then realized that it was Luna, clad in a concoction of bright oranges and deep purples. "Oh, hello Hermione" Luna said casually, her usual dreamy smile firmly in place "would you like a copy of 'The Quibbler'?" she offered, holding out a brightly coloured pile of papers. Hermione blinked in surprise but nodded gratefully, at least one person didn't hate her. "It's great to have you back again Hermione, you have a very calming aura, you know?" Luna stated "although I can spot a change in you, just by the vibes that your giving off" the eccentric girl added. Hermione composed her expression into one of interest, and raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"Oh really?" she enquired; preparing herself for the nonsensical ramblings that she was inevitably about to receive. Luna nodded and slipped into the seat beside Hermione with confidence that she could only dream of possessing. "Really" Luna confirmed, dumping her pile of newspapers on the table as she adjusted her dragonfly hairclip. "Well I'm no Professor Trelawny, but I can sense that something in you has altered, it's almost as if your infatuated with somebody…no, in fact maybe not infatuation, maybe genuine love" Luna explained, Hermione snorted at the ridiculousness of this statement, but was inwardly thankful for Luna's company.

"Do tell" Hermione said, wondering if Luna was really that crazy - or just permanently high on drugs. "You see Hermione, I don't see how I could have ever mistaken it for infatuation, your quite obviously in love, ah it must feel fantastic, to be in love…" Luna exclaimed, staring into space and sounding slightly wistful. "What you have to remember Hermione, is that love comes in different forms, for example, I love nargles, but in a different way to how I love my Father, do you understand?" Luna asked, grabbing a slice of toast and beginning to spread a greenish-substance onto it.

Hermione nodded, a spark of curiosity forming inside of her. "So who do I love? What type of love is it?" she questioned, grimacing as Luna began to eat the disgusting-looking piece of toast. "I already told you Hermione" Luna began, in a mildly exasperated tone of voice "you are IN love, so you don't 'love' this person, you are 'in love' with them" she said, causing Hermione to feel even more confused "and I don't know who you are in love with, it seems like you don't either, but when you do find out – it will be incredibly romantic…" Luna stated, causing Hermione to splutter and spit out her pumpkin juice. It was final, Luna Lovegood was I.N.S.A.N.E.

"Well Hermione, I'm going to leave now so I can get to potions early, I enjoy trying to read Professor Snape's aura, it's a very pretty colour" Luna confessed, standing up and skipping merrily out of the Great-Hall, leaving a very puzzled Hermione behind. Hermione let an amused expression cross her face when she thought about an oblivious Luna staring at a snarling Snape, but that amusement quickly faded when she spotted Ginny pointing at her. The ginger-haired girl pointed at her and then turned to whisper to Lavender, not even attempting to be discreet. Hermione had a mental tantrum, she knew that Ginny blamed her, but she could be slightly less fucking obvious about it.

Suddenly, the whole table started to shake, and glasses fell and shattered as people gasped at a reddening Hermione. She was angry, and there was no way that she could control it. Hermione forced herself to take deep breaths, turning around when she felt a hand pat her lower back. She calmed down slightly when she realized whom the hand belonged to, and in the space of a few seconds, the table grew still.

"Lets get some fresh air" Bellatrix murmured, helping Hermione to stand up and refraining from cackling at the shocked expressions that appeared on the face of every single student. Hermione nodded her agreement and followed the elder witch gratefully out of the crowded hall, inwardly smirking when she spotted Draco Malfoy gawping in surprise and Lavender Brown's features morph into an obviously disappointed expression . Fresh air seemed like a good prospect right now.


	11. Amortentia

A/N – Hello, sorry I haven't updated for a while. This chapter isn't really very long but I hope you like it anyway, I'll make the next one longer. I missed out Bellatrix and Hermione's 'chat' because I wanted things to move a bit faster.

Thank you so much for all of your reviews, if I could send things through the internet, I would send you all, erm…a life-sized Bellatrix cardboard cutout?

**Thanks to: ****Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It, elfspirit7, ApollosGirlSunny, Bellaminion and lemonfiz1.**

Chapter Eleven

Voices whirled around the constricted dungeons, and the echoes of Snape's snarling voice and Lavender's giggles buzzed fiercely in Hermione's ears, causing her to rest her head on the smooth oak surface of her desk. "Longbottom! 10 points from Gryffindor!" Snape roared, shaking his head as Neville's cauldron broke into shards, "alright then you blithering idiots, everybody come over here!" he demanded, sneering at each individual student as they crowded around the desk. "Today we will be looking – I said looking_ Mr. Goyle_, do NOT touch…" Snape glared dangerously at Crabbe and Goyle, smirking slightly when they backed away in fright. "_Looking_ at the 'Amortentia potion', does anybody know anything regarding the effects of this particular potion?" Snape questioned, his eyes scanning the room. Shooting a sideways glance at Hermione, he was surprised to see that, for once, her arms remained firmly crossed. "Miss Granger? Surely you can enlighten us?" he ordered, gesturing towards the cauldron that lay on the desk.

"Well…" Hermione began, ignoring the sneers she got from the other students as she took a step towards the potion, "'Amortentia' is a love potion that causes powerful infatuation or obsession in the drinker, it has a different aroma for anyone that smells it - according to what attracts them…" Hermione inhaled deeply as she stood directly before the cauldron, a dreamy smile crossing her face as her eyelashes fluttered shut. Smells that seemed strongly familiar to her floated around, and Hermione sighed happily - lost in her own world as the aroma of fresh coffee, perfume, ground spices and other unique scents drifted into her nostrils. Then, the sound of the lid being snapped firmly back onto the cauldron brought Hermione back to reality, and she blushed as she hurried away from the highly infectious potion. "Quite" Snape agreed, looking somewhat amused "however, we will NOT be making this particular potion today" he informed them "it is a very advanced process and I don't feel that some of you are… _academic _enough to make it - well, not without blowing something up first" Snape finished, staring at Neville pointedly.

**~o~O~o~**

A while later, Hermione silently chewed her food as she stared fiercely at her plate, vaguely listening to Dean chatter on about football. Then, her hazel eyes widened as she felt a soft object hit her lower back, and she spun around to see a scrunched up ball of paper lying on the stone floor. Picking it up with reluctance and distaste, she smoothed the wrinkled paper out and let her eyes rake over the sprawling, black ink.

I really do have an excellent aim, don't I? I'm quite good at throwing things, Cissy and I used to practice throwing knives at house-elves and– oh bloody hell, I forgot that you liked house-elves. Well, forget I said that, I've heard that I can be quite tactless at times.

Weasley's eyes are burning into your forehead right now. Did you know that? Well, you do now anyway – and if looks could kill, you'd certainly be dead. Anyway, you don't look like your 'getting on like a house on fire'. Remember that time I really did set her house on fire? Funny, wasn't it? I'm sorry, but who the hell names their house 'The Burrow'? Don't rabbits live in Burrows? Ask her where Weasels live – go on, I'd laugh! (Although your table looks like a right bunch of miserable sods), you should sit on the Slytherin table and torment my dear nephew. That would be funny, is it true that he got transfigured into a ferret once? I could transfigure Weasley into a weasel if you like…sorry, what was the point of this letter again?

Oh yes, don't eat in the Great Hall tonight – Albus has invited himself for a 'delightful dinner with Bellatrix and Hermione in their quarters'…

On second thoughts, perhaps we could just kill ourselves – how about that, a joint suicide? Sound good? Or, maybe we could steal his lemon drops? Cut off his beard whilst he's sleeping? Lock him in a room with an army of dementors?

Dementors aren't that bad actually – misunderstood creatures, so what if they suck the soul out of people? So does Albus's endless conversation.

Merlin, I can go on, can't I? Perhaps I should co-write with Rita Skeeter. Have you ever met her? I think we should set her up on a blind date with Snape -the greasy git is trying to see what I'm writing…oh, he just called me childish. Apparently if you stick your tongue out and shield your secret writing paper it makes you childish. I'm going to go now; McGonagall is giving me that suspicious, beady-eyed, I-know-your-doing-something-you-shouldn't-be, type of look.

Bellatrix.

P.S – Dumbledore's bringing the dessert.


	12. Dinner With Dumbledore

**A/N: **

**Thanks for all your reviews, they are all really appreciated. Oh, and in answer to your question, to me Amortentia would probably smell like, erm…Scented candles and coffee - I have recently developed a harmful addiction to coffee (love the name by the way, Most Loyal Bellaminion – fab name!)**

**Thank you to: ****Thanks to: Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It, elfspirit7, ApollosGirlSunny, Bellaminion, lemonfiz1, xAceOfHarts, Most Loyal Bellaminion, , Nikki7993 and Helena and Harry potter.**

**To sum up, dinner with Dumbledore and light flirting. Oh, and interpret Dumbledore's parting words as you want. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Twelve

"No."

Hermione spun around upon hearing the voice, and then spotted Bellatrix eyeing her in amusement from across the room. "What do you mean, 'no'?" the younger witch demanded, wondering when the hell Bellatrix had started to enter her room without knocking. "You look like a Knockturn alley whore...take it off" Bellatrix replied, in an almost bored tone of voice. Hermione let out a shocked gasp and then took a step closer to where Bellatrix was standing, presenting the woman with a fierce, angry glare. "I beg your pardon?" she demanded in a furious tone of voice, and Bellatrix only let out an infuriating snigger. Then, when she saw that Hermione was not laughing too, she forced her expression to change into a neutral one. "Did I stutter?" Bellatrix hissed, her eyes raking over Hermione's form ".off". Hermione raised a dark eyebrow and took another step towards her 'room mate', closing the small gap that separated them. "You want me to strip off in front of you? I never knew your taste ran to students, pervert…" Hermione whispered, resisting the urge to snigger as Bellatrix paled slightly (which was, indeed, possible – despite the already deathly-white complexion).

"I didn't mean it like that, you insufferable brat, I meant…oh never mind" Bellatrix snapped, feeling slightly angry at being made a fool of. "The point is, Hermione, basically you look like a common slut, and that is no way to entertain any dinner guest" Bellatrix continued bluntly, "no matter how annoying they are" she added, under her breath. Hermione narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix and stamped her left foot childishly, feeling a mixture between annoyance, self-consciousness and amusement. "I do not look like a common slut, Bellatrix!" she protested, pursing her lips "and unless your planning on undressing me, it is highly likely that I _will _be wearing this dress this evening" she said, blushing and burying her head in her hands when she realized what she had just said. Bellatrix cackled at Hermione's embarrassment and placed both hands on her shoulders "and, I'm the pervert, am I?" she hissed, her grin widening at the young girl's shocked expression. "Alright then, keep on the very _revealing, _very _see-through _dress" she said – a part of her hoping that Hermione actually would, then she leant close to the girl's ear so that she could whisper, and her hot breath tickled Hermione's neck.

"It will give me something interesting to look at during dinner"

And as soon as Bellatrix had finished uttering this statement, Hermione whizzed over to her wardrobe, faster than a golden snitch. Perhaps she would wear that conservative, blue dress that her Mother loved so much…

~O~

"More wine, Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione offered in a mild tone of voice – after all, _somebody _had to be polite at this dinner party, and Bellatrix was making absolutely _no _effort at all…Hermione would make the sodding cow _pay! _

"Oh, don't mind if I do, Miss Granger" Dumbledore beamed, holding out his glass pleasantly. "It's a delicious, fruity blend – did you make it yourself?" Dumbledore asked stupidly, adjusting his half-moon spectacles and twirling his beard with one finger. "But, of course" Bellatrix piped up sarcastically "you used the blood of a street urchin, didn't you, Hermione?" she smirked; ignoring the glare that Hermione sent her way. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he sipped on his wine, appearing slightly amused. "_Hermione?" _Dumbledore repeated, looking at them both intently, "well, I'm glad to hear that you're both on friendly terms" he said, munching on a crispy roast-potato.

"_No!" _both witches yelled simultaneously, Bellatrix shaking her head frantically and Hermione plucking up the courage to frown disapprovingly at the old man. _Honestly – _the nosy git was always trying to insinuate things. "You have something on your nose, Bellatrix – erm, I mean, _Miss Black_" Hermione pointed out, desperate for a change of subject. Bellatrix rubbed at the bridge of her nose, trying and failing to get rid of the speck of dirt that lay there. "Here, let me" Hermione offered, edging closer so that she could wipe at her nose with a napkin. "Oh my, you do make a good couple" Dumbledore joked, clapping his hands together in triumphant glee. Hermione's eyes widened, and she attempted to subtly edge away – however, Bellatrix snaked an arm around her neck and smirked mischievously. "We do, don't we?" Bellatrix agreed, giving Hermione a not-to-gentle pat on the head. "Hermione, dear" she began "will you marry me? We can live in a quaint little cottage by the sea…we can take walks hand-in-hand, I'll buy you a dog for our anniversary…" then, Bellatrix's sentence was cut short as she received a sharp punch to her arm.

"Shut it! Your not funny" Hermione hissed, trying to wriggle out of the elder witches grasp. Sighing in exasperation, Hermione gasped slightly as the faint aroma of a familiar perfume hit her nostrils.

NO, Hermione, don't panic…your delusional – lack of sleep, thanks imaginary Harry and Ron, damn it, need to get out…

"So" Bellatrix piped up, regaining some of her table manners "who wants coffee?" she enquired politely, and Hermione felt her face grow extremely hot. "It's freshly ground, my favourite blend" Bellatrix added, and Hermione let out a terrified squeak. "What's up with you, Granger? Bellatrix wondered out loud "all I did is ask if you wanted coffee…actually, I'd better make you a cup – you seem a little jumpy" Bellatrix said, striding over to the kitchen area and beginning to take out cups. "I'll add ground spices – it's good for the nerves," Bellatrix added, puzzlement clouding her features as Hermione shrieked in undisguised terror and bolted into the bathroom. "Well" stated Dumbledore; appearing just as confused "we'll have to alert the house-elves that their cooking standards have dropped".

~O~

"Well, Miss Granger, Bellatrix – I must be on my way back, thank you for the most delightful evening" Dumbledore smiled, brushing down his robes and then rising from the table. "Hang on a second" Bellatrix protested, also standing up "you said that you were bringing dessert" she said, childish disappointment evident in her tone.

"Oh, silly me, I forgot" Dumbledore lied, adjusting his glasses and ambling towards the door. "No matter, I'm sure that you and Miss Granger will think of something exciting," he said, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

And just before he exited completely, he raised his eyebrows suggestively and added, in a wise tone of voice,

"There is, after all, more than one use for whipped cream and chocolate sauce".


	13. Sinister Dreams

**A/N- I'm so sorry that I haven't updated...before you chase me around with pitchforks and flaming torches...err, it's been a combo of laziness, livejournal, laziness, no inspiration, laziness, family, laziness, school and more laziness. Anyway, I'm going to change the layout a bit (I've always known its 'new speaker, new line' but my computer totally fucked that notion up). This chapter is quite short – very sorry. I'm going to improve this – speedier updates, longer chapters, grammar, blah, blah, blah. I'm just ready for them to kiss already, but I'm worried that it would be to fast right now. I'll try and make it happen soon (perhaps within the next few chapters), anyway, but I don't want it to seem rushed or unnatural. Thoughts? Advice? (I'm begging here). ****As always, I would appreciate reviews, and I'm very sorry for temporarily disappearing. **

**Thanks to - ****Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It, elfspirit7, ApollosGirlSunny, Bellaminion, lemonfiz1, xAceOfHarts, Most Loyal Bellaminion, , Nikki7993, Helena and Harry potter, ThisLife103.7, Bellatrixxx17, beany, Kennedy Lee, miluvrox, LeStrange, UndeadBellatrix, dracosmslytherinGirl98, Indulgery, hellhound2468, Cissa-Lycoris-Black, Mastiff, , RoswellLover22, shycoyotegirl and nayapotter34. **

**I don't apologize for the long authors note – it needed to be said!**

Chapter Thirteen

The forest reminded Hermione of a newspaper... looming, black trees that appeared to be crudely drawn and glaring down at her, endless skies that looked like a sweep of clean, untouched ivory.

"So...your here, are you?" spat a familiar voice, a voice that was_ so_ cold, it seemed to chill the blood that ran through her veins. She knew who the voice belonged to even before she spun around to face Harry, and sure enough, there he stood, Ron sobbing into the shoulder of his denim shirt.

"It's not like I want to be here" and she was shocked by how unaffected and calm her own voice sounded - as if she had no feelings anymore...as if she had no _warmth. _Just like a robot.

"We don't want you to be here either" Ron said, sniffing slightly "so why don't you just go away? Leave us...just like you did that day!"

"I didn't leave you that day", she said, "I do NOT feel guilty and I don't regret it". Lies...just empty words, meaningless lies. Then, the pain that felt began to grow physical, excruciating stinging - forming in her arms, her legs, her head...her heart.

"Then why are you here?" somebody asked, and she was not sure whether it was Harry or Ron, but she did not care anymore.

Heartless. Because you don't care who your speaking to. You don't care about _them._

"But then, if I'm heartless, why do I feel pain? Here?" and she didn't realize that she had spoken her thoughts aloud, or brought her hand to clutch her chest, sinking down to the dirty ground, because she had never felt such pain in her life – it was more agonizing than being under a 'crucio'!

Everything was starting to fade...the trees, the scenery, and her vision darkening around the edges. She felt as if she was being stabbed with sharp, burning-hot needles.

"A flowering face with a serpent's heart" Harry said softly, letting out a humourless laugh, eyes sparkling with hatred, "murderer". The last part was only a whisper, but, in her head, it was as if it were being announced over loud, booming speakers, echoing up and down.

"I'm not a murderer" she choked. She felt something wet spill from her mouth, and she was not sure if it was saliva or blood. Maybe she was being punished? Vaguely, she remembered how her Mother once said,

"If you lie too much, one day your tongue will crumble and then turn black"

Perhaps that was happening now?

"I love you, Ron", she did not know why she had said it - the person she was talking to wasn't the real Ron.

"You love somebody that is as worse as you are...a cold monster with a sinful smile and a black, evil heart" Ron replied, sounding eerily casual.

"I love nobody but you"

"You were the reason that I died" he retorted.

"You sacrificed yourself for me"

"Because I thought that you would follow me"

Everything scattered apart...fell away. Faded – like a spider's web unravelling. Then, she dreamt of strange things after that. Gleaming white tiles splattered with blood, pained screams and pleading sobs, sinister dolls with no faces, stitched up mouths that could not cry for help, dead animals lined up in a row, the sounds of guns being fired and a child's fearful voice, footsteps running down a corridor, and then...white, blank nothingness.

Hermione felt relief wash over her as she woke up, her breath coming in scared pants and the bed sheets stuck to her skin by sweat. She was certain that she could never sleep again – she did not want to revisit those feelings of terror. Then, she felt a cool hand soothing her burning forehead, a huge comfort in a sea of bleakness. She knew the owner of that hand before she had even sat up. She had seen that hand a lot over the past month – stirring drinks, gracefully performing spells, fingers drumming anxiously on the tabletop.

"I didn't mean to leave them" she confessed, her hazel eyes meeting familiar brown ones, seeking at least a speck of reassurance.

"You didn't leave them", Bellatrix replied soothingly, her fingertips scuttling down the exposed skin of Hermione's arm, leaving goose pimples in their wake and then coming to rest lightly over her own hand. For some reason, Hermione did not even consider it weird for them to be holding hands, it felt somewhat...natural.

"You're not...you're not in the right frame of mind, at the moment" Bellatrix said, her words sounding careful and measured, "but...you're going to be ok".

"Do you promise?" Hermione asked, not caring if she sounded stupid.

"I promise" replied the elder Witch, sounding actually very sincere and not the slightest bit sarcastic.

"And how do I know that I can trust you?" Hermione asked, knowing that her tone was suspicious.

"I care about you"

Their voices irritated her – high-pitched, malicious whispers. She tried to tell herself that it was their voices anyway, and not their words.

"What a little mudblood bitch" hissed Lavender, a nasty smile hovering over her face.

"I know" agreed Ginny, snaking an arm around Lavender's shoulders "and you know that she only got that A in 'History of Magic' because they felt sorry for her..."

"You know that it's you that they should feel sorry for" the other witch replied, her dirty-blonde hair brushing the skin of Ginny's neck, "not only did you lose your brother that day...you lost your true love". Hermione wondered if she was the only one that noticed the wetness forming in Ginny's eyes - tears trickling down her face, and then coming to rest on her cheeks, glistening on her freckled skin like fragments of a broken diamond.

_If Lavender was a true friend, she would have noticed by now. She's using her. But, why am I sympathising with HER? She's been making my life a living hell ever since that day! _

Ginny stood up, the chair behind her falling to the ground and landing with a clatter against the polished wood. Then, she walked over to Hermione, the rest of the class watching in horror as they stood so close that they were nearly nose-to-nose.

"Tell me, Hermione...what was it like to watch my Brother's life ebb slowly away, knowing that you were the cause?" she said, pretending to sound curious, so close that Hermione could smell the mint on her breath, "Do you and Bellatrix laugh about it?". Before she could stop it from happening, Hermione's hand reached out of its own accord, slapping Ginny hard in the face.

After that, there was chaos.


	14. Fight

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is short and not very exciting but I have loads of ideas for the next chapter so hopefully it will be a bit better. Thank you so much for all of you patience, advice and kind words and I hopefully I can give you faster updates now that I don't have any more exams until after Christmas. I think some of you were a bit confused about the last chapter – basically, Hermione had a nightmare, Bella comforted her and the last part was meant to be set in class, but fanfiction got rid of the swirly things I use to separate writing :( **

**Thanks to; ****Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It, elfspirit7, ApollosGirlSunny, Bellaminion, lemonfiz1, xAceOfHarts, Most Loyal Bellaminion, , Nikki7993, Helena and Harry potter, ThisLife103.7, Bellatrixxx17, beany, Kennedy Lee, miluvrox, LeStrange, UndeadBellatrix, dracosmslytherinGirl98, Indulgery, hellhound2468, Cissa-Lycoris-Black, Mastiff, , RoswellLover22, shycoyotegirl, nayapotter34, ****starryeyeddaydreamer9, , QueenOfDarknessxXx, La Chat Noir, LethalPoison, LauraFlowi, Wolfgirl210082 and LeStrangex. **

For a few moments after it happened, everything was quiet and time seemed to gradually freeze around her. She could hear people's whispers float around the classroom but she did not turn around to see whom they came from, as her attention was, without a doubt, captured by Ginny. The redheaded witch's form seemed to have changed to that of a silent statue's, her face as cold and emotionless as the smooth marble features of an exquisite sculpture.

"Stop this tomfoolery at once!" she heard Snape hiss, but he sounded far away, and the anger in his tone did not intimidate Hermione as much as it used to do. She knew that Snape and the other students were only standing a few feet away – for she could see black, billowing robes and an assortment of gawping students out of the corner of her eye. Ginny's mind had finally seemed to process what had just happened and she brought a shaky hand up to caress her reddened cheek in disbelief, her entire body shivering with what seemed to be a mixture of shock and anger.

"Fucking mudblood!" Ginny's face began to grow pale with fury, her chocolate brown eyes flashing with venom that made Hermione shudder, "you're dead, Granger".

She felt a sharp, stinging pain against her cheekbone, and then she realized that it was Ginny scratching her - scarlet, razor-sharp nails scraping against the skin of her cheek.

"You made her bleed..." said Seamus, and Hermione thought that he sounded as if he were underwater. It was only at this statement, that Hermione realized what the wetness trickling from her face and running down her neck was. It was her blood; her dirty, tainted blood. The blood that was a reminder in the back of her head, every day and every time she made Bellatrix laugh, a reminder of whom she was and what would always be.

Mudblood.

"Don't touch me, Ginny Weasley", she said, and although it was only a whisper, it caused the classroom to descend into an uneasy silence. She felt something else wet drip down her face, and she briefly wondered what could possibly have made her bleed for the second time.

"Don't touch me, you might catch something!" she shouted - half sarcastically, her voice changing to a furious scream as she realized that this other type of wetness was not blood... it was tears, and she was crying; huge, salty tears dribbling down her cheeks and bouncing off her jawbone before she could stop them. They both lunged at each other almost simultaneously, tumbling down to the ground whilst holding each other's arms in a painfully tight grip and landing in an undignified heap on the cold, dusty flagstones. Hermione grabbed a handful of Ginny's long, shining hair and gave it a small tug, but she no longer felt any satisfaction at seeing Ginny wince slightly.

"There's a space kept in hell with your name on the seat!" Ginny spat, kicking Hermione, the pointed tip of her boot causing Hermione to hiss in pain and grit her teeth as it connected with her stomach.

"There's a look on your face I would like to _knock out_", Hermione yelled, punching Ginny with one fist and using the other arm to clean up her face, wiping away her tears of shame.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a familiar voice drawled from the doorway, and Hermione knew whom that voice belonged to without even turning around, "it looks like the little Gryffindors have been fighting", and she could hear the smirk in Bellatrix's tone.

"They were clawing at one another like wild animals", Snape exclaimed, sounding like Christmas had come early, "of course, I would have been more than capable of dealing with the situation alone, however, as you are Miss. Granger's 'guardian' for the short term, I thought it best that you decide on the appropriate punishment".

The dark-haired witch strode over to where Hermione was crouched on the floor and knelt in front of her, her flowing, black skirts pooling around her on the grimy floor. A hint of a smile hovered on the edge of Bellatrix's painted lips as she realized that Hermione wasn't seriously injured, and then she grabbed her slightly crooked wand and murmured "_episkey". _At first, Hermione felt minor discomfort – like a hot and cold feeling prickling against her skin, but then she felt the pain drift away as a sense of relief and calm washed over her.

"Come on then, Granger, let's go and assign your..._ punishment", _Bellatrix purred in a blatantly suggestive tone, her dark eyes sparkling with glee as she rose gracefully from the floor and held out her hand expectantly. She looked up through blurred vision, hazel eyes slightly crossed as her whole body shivered with a cold that she had not noticed until now. Putting her hand in Bellatrix's, the elder witch's fingers instantly closed over Hermione's palm like a spider catching a fly, but; strangely enough, she felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. As Bellatrix grasped her hand and rubbed her thumb along her palm, Hermione realized that she did not want to let go.

"What about Miss Weasley's punishment?" Snape demanded in the background, his voice drowned out slightly by the sounds of students whispering in disbelief.

"As much as I would _love _to punish Miss Weasley", Bellatrix replied tonelessly, "I think that her parents would prefer her to return home with her sanity intact".


	15. Green paint and mudbloods

**A/N: I know I have not updated in ages, it's the magic of exams, if only Dumbledore was our headmaster :) **

**Anyway, I hope this chapter is a little longer than the last (was four pages on word), and I hope you all had a very enjoyable Christmas and new-year. Also, thank you so much for all the reviews, advice and support, I can't really tell you how grateful I am. **

**Thanks to: ****Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It, elfspirit7, ApollosGirlSunny, Bellaminion, lemonfiz1, xAceOfHarts, Most Loyal Bellaminion, , Nikki7993, Helena and Harry potter, ThisLife103.7, Bellatrixxx17, beany, Kennedy Lee, miluvrox, LeStrange, UndeadBellatrix, dracosmslytherinGirl98, Indulgery, hellhound2468, Cissa-Lycoris-Black, Mastiff, , RoswellLover22, shycoyotegirl, nayapotter34, starryeyeddaydreamer9, , QueenOfDarknessxXx, La Chat Noir, LethalPoison, LauraFlowi, Wolfgirl210082, LeStrangex, imperfectionisunderrated, B Pterodactyl, Greyella, Hermione LeStrange, InsanityRunsInMyBlood, sam and SCORPIAssassin.**

Sunlight was streaming through the tall window-panes, bathing the entire room in its warm, golden glow. A large spider scuttled across the living-room floor, its spindly legs quickly crossing the ground at an almost panicked pace. However, this extremely fast speed was in vain; as suddenly the pointed heel of a black, leather boot crashed down onto the spider's back, squishing the poor, helpless creature into the floorboards before it had a chance to escape, until it was nothing but a black, slimy blob.

"I do wish that you wouldn't do that!", Hermione snapped, glaring over to the cloaked figure of Bellatrix Lestrange, who just smirked triumphantly in reply and moved her foot from side to side for good measure.

"Are you sure about this punishment, Bellatrix? Any fool can make Polyjuice Potion, don't you want to give me a detention or something..." Hermione questioned, her voice trailing off into silence.

"I _will _give you a detention...however, since this is on my terms, I think that I will prolong it for a little while, after all, I have much more entertaining things to do than babysit you".

"Like what, parade around the room with no clothes on?" Hermione retorted, "Anyway, tell me what you need the potion for", she demanded, her eyes narrowing in accusation.

"Shan't", Bellatrix said, pulling up the velvety, ebony hood of her cloak, "and besides, that was only one time and I had underwear on, so I _was _decent - not that you would have minded if I wasn't, you perverted-"

"Hang on a second, what exactly are you trying to insinuate here?" Hermione interrupted, her complexion flushing rapidly in a mixture of embarrassment and anger, "you must be absolutely, bloody mad!"

"I'm not trying to 'insinuate' anything", the dark-haired Witch protested, sounding triumphant and smug as she crossed over to the doorway in a few long strides, "and don't use such inappropriate language, dear, I may have to..._'punish' _you for it", she said, letting out an insane-sounding cackle before she exited, disappearing into the hallways of Hogwarts before Hermione could think up of a suitably scathing reply.

Snow was falling unattractively from the grey sky like huge clumps of dandruff, landing on the floor in murky-coloured puddles of slush and a dangerous layer of thin ice. It was getting everywhere – on the pavements, on the treetops, and even on Bellatrix's eyelashes, coating them like snowy mascara, meaning that whenever she looked upwards all she could see was a long sweep of whiteness. She gave the front door an aggressive knock with her balled up fist, absent-mindedly scuffing the heel of her boot in the blanket of snow that lay beneath her. A familiar face appeared behind the ornate, glazed window, and then the door swung open to reveal the slender figure of her younger sister, an unimpressed expression painted onto her face. Narcissa appeared significantly rumpled, and her blood-red lips curled into an annoyed sneer as her blue eyes narrowed. Bellatrix would have been intimidated...apart from the fact that her sister's lipstick was smudged and she looked like a child that had been caught playing with their Mother's make-up.

"Really, Bella", the blonde-haired witch sighed, smoothing down her long, silk skirt with the palms of her hands, "I wish you would have notified me of the fact that you were visiting, I was...'occupied' with something".

"Yes, it does appear that I caught you unawares", Bellatrix replied, smiling nastily, "whom were you entertaining? Nobody special, I hope".

"That is none of your business, Bella!" Narcissa hissed snottily, crossing her arms across her chest in an almost self-conscious gesture, "and anyway, rumour has it that you're not exactly behaving yourself either..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bellatrix snapped icily, suddenly very interested in what her younger sister had to say.

"Well, my Draco tells me that you spend all of your time holed up in a dusty room with that _mudblood_ nowadays", Narcissa replied, an although she seemed to be forcing herself to speak in a casual tone, it was obvious how disgusted she was by the way she spat the word 'mudblood' out.

"Are you referring to _Hermione_?" Bellatrix demanded, her expression growing as irritated as her sister's, "yes well, that is different, she's...she's not like the others".

"On a first-name basis, are we?" Narcissa laughed mockingly, her cold eyes dancing in an angry type of triumph, "I have to say, Bella, I am disappointed in you – 'not like the others', what _are _you thinking?".

"Look, Cissy-", but Bellatrix's sentence was cut short by Narcissa holding up a manicured hand to silence her, her pale, pointed face flushing with an anger that Bellatrix had never seen portrayed by her sister before.

"No, Bellatrix", Narcissa growled, "Before you try to feed me any type of lie or excuse, you will _listen to what I have to say_", she said in a dangerously soft tone, punctuating each word by digging her sharp nails into her sister's shoulder.

"I have never ever been so furious with you Bellatrix Black, not even when you cut the hair off my dolls when we were little...and speaking of when we were little, do you not remember what Mother and Father always told us? About how _disgusting _and _dirty _mudbloods are? Have you forgotten about all the times we we're taught about the importance of blood purity? Are we, your family – your flesh and blood, so unsatisfactory to you that you would rather spend all of your time with a know-it-all mudblood? Do you not remember what happens to traitorous girls in our family, Bella?"

Bellatrix's eyes travelled down to where her sister's hand lay on her shoulder, almost like a paper-white, fleshy spider with long, slim fingers scrunching together in the dark fabric of her dress, crimson nails pressing down and causing stinging pains to shoot through her skin.

"They get disowned", Narcissa continued, undoubtedly referring to Andromeda, her eyes empty and her smile cold and mocking "and if you think that just because I...just because I love you", Bellatrix noticed that she spat the word 'love' out as quickly as possible, scrunching her face up in disgust as if it left an unpleasant taste in her mouth, "that I will not be offended by your actions, then you could not be more wrong. I think that the Dark Lord's death has done strange things to your mind – it has made you become everything that you hated, it has turned you too weak and accepting, and do you know something, Bella? I want my old sister back".

An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air for a few moments afterwards, and in Bellatrix's mind, the sky seemed to darken and the colours surrounding her seemed to fade, and she felt as if she had just realized something but she could not quite put her finger on what it was, however, she did know for certain that she did not want to be here anymore – listening to Narcissa's emotionless voice whilst drowned under her disapproving glares, hearing her speak words that seemed to hold no meaning or truth to them anymore. She knew at the back of her mind that there was only one place that she wanted to be, but she would rather die than admit it to herself.

"I have to go", she whispered, and she was shocked that she could not even recognize her own voice, wondering what had happened to her and why she felt so different. However, she decided not to dwell on it, and instead gave her younger sister a polite nod before spinning around, a blanket of pristine snow crunching underneath her heels with every footstep that she took, a strange feeling hanging in her mind as she walked as carefully as possible.

Hermione let out a quiet sigh as she stared into her glass of pumpkin juice, the sounds of other people chattering and laughing drifting in and out of her mind as she tried not to yawn.

"Hello, Hermione Granger", a familiar voice chirped, "Are you thinking about wrackspurts? They're invisible, you know?"

"No, not really", Hermione said without looking up, wishing that her own voice did not sound so unenthusiastic, "so, how are you, Luna?" she enquired, trying to fake a sense of politeness.

"I'm fine", the eccentric witch replied, sinking down into a chair beside her, "just a bit green".

Well, that certainly captured Hermione's attention, and she turned her head slightly to be greeted with the sight of a very messy looking Luna Lovegood – complete with patches of emerald paint. Hermione gawped whilst the blonde girl smiled dreamily.

"What in Merlin's name happened to you?" she gasped, briefly wondering what her own Mother would have to say if she put on an outfit covered with dried splashes of paint.

"Well, Neville and I were painting pictures of plants – hence the green colour, and then we sort of got into a bit of a paint fight", Luna explained, gesturing to her splattered t-shirt, "still, I think my outfit looks rather fetching this way, like I'm going for a deliberately grungy look".

Hermione snorted doubtfully and then covered her mouth with her hand in guilt.

"No, don't feel bad", Luna reassured her, "I walked past Professor Snape in the corridors and he informed me that I look like a troll covered in moss...anyway, I'm going to go and finish my Divination essay now, goodbye Hermione – oh, hello Ms Black".

Hermione's eyes widened and she turned around quickly, raising an eyebrow at the sight that met her. Bellatrix was casually leaning against the table behind her, grinning lopsidedly as her brown eyes seemed to dance mischievously. She had seen the other woman smirk and frown and sneer but she had never seen such a genuine smile on her face, such radiance seeming to shine from her.

"Let's get drunk", she stated simply, her eyes raking over Hermione as if she were an interesting artefact displayed in a glass, museum cabinet, and Hermione had the sinking feeling that the dark-haired Witch was deadly serious.


	16. Drinking and Thinking

**A/N – Hello, thank you for your reviews (I agree with you by the way, my Cissy is a complete bitch but it's very fun to write her like that...mwahahaha!). Yeah, I probably could have taken advantage of the 'drunk' situation but I just stuck to 'feelings' and shit like that because as tempting as it was (and believe me, it was VERY tempting), I didn't want them to kiss just yet. Or wake up in bed together. Ok, I lie, I **_**did**_** want those two things to happen **_**very much**_**, but I'm biding my time *cue 'JAWS' music here*. LOL – anyway once again, thank you for your feedback and I hope this chapter isn't too...'fluffy'. **

**Thanks to: Cat, Laura, greeneleka, Darkshadow-lord, TaintedFlare, Kyraaah1992, lilithflower714, loonymoni, Clemenmore, Auraya Kairi Black, accioseverusnape, MusicLover333, unexpected sabotage, yamiperv, owltalon90, Adephegia, WolfAlpha13, Kriszti7, wickedRENThead1783, OpheliaBlack, Mia Constance Hardbroom, Wolf1337, SlyWolf17, LeslieB, YuffeGetsBears, hogwartswillwelcomemehomexoxo, Mistress Belladonna Black, SaikohBellaL, Roxy Huntington, hann234, wild artemis, LeoCookie, , Thinuil, Eliza Spootkitten, Y-C-H-3000, Cruciatus96, Hana X, ScOut4It, elfspirit7, ApollosGirlSunny, Bellaminion, lemonfiz1, xAceOfHarts, Most Loyal Bellaminion, , Nikki7993, Helena and Harry potter, ThisLife103.7, Bellatrixxx17, beany, Kennedy Lee, miluvrox, LeStrange, UndeadBellatrix, dracosmslytherinGirl98, Indulgery, hellhound2468, Cissa-Lycoris-Black, Mastiff, , RoswellLover22, shycoyotegirl, nayapotter34, starryeyeddaydreamer9, , QueenOfDarknessxXx, La Chat Noir, LethalPoison, LauraFlowi, Wolfgirl210082, LeStrangex, imperfectionisunderrated, B Pterodactyl, Greyella, Hermione LeStrange, InsanityRunsInMyBlood, sam, SCORPIAssassin, cheshire-eyes, Grounded, A grounded Bellaminion, xokarmaaxo.**

The sky was just a velvety black sweep, scattered with the occasional star that twinkled merrily, beautiful diamond-like lights that knew everything about everybody. The stars saw millions of events compressed tightly into just a few seconds and, when she felt uneasy or annoyed – like she was feeling at the moment, Hermione liked to imagine that the stars were watching over her, their shining light shrouding her in a comfort blanket of...protection, almost like she imagined Harry must have felt like when he used to wear his Father's invisibility cloak. She longed to be in the 'Three Broomsticks', a place filled with warm, orangey lighting and comfortable, squishy chairs; a cosy place that was familiar to her, a place with a relaxed atmosphere where she had experienced many happy and sad times. Unfortunately, she was unlucky enough to be trapped in a dusty, cramped bar located on a dusty, cramped corner of Knockturn Alley; a bar full of wizards and witches that leered at one another; making crude, suggestive jokes and sexual innuendos that even Seamus wouldn't dare to make. It was a miserable place and it reeked of sweat, cigarettes and sex, a lingering odour of sewer water peppering the air. Hermione wriggled uncomfortably; one of the belt buckles that were attached to her trench-coat was currently digging into the bottom of her thigh because she had covered the barstool with the garment. There was no way she was sitting on one of those seats without being protected – the leather material of the furniture was covered with bloodstains and other distinctive colours that Hermione did not want to try and identify lest she regurgitate her lunch.

This was all Bellatrix's fault. It wasn't like she cared about the other witch or anything; the annoying cow could drink herself to death for all Hermione cared...however, she wished that she would have chosen a classier place to do so (preferably without dragging her along). Honestly, did Bellatrix not understand that Hermione might have been busy? Well, to be fair to the elder witch, all Hermione had planned to do was read and raid the kitchens, but she wished that the irritating woman would have stopped to consider her feelings beforehand. For all Bellatrix knew, Hermione might have wanted to stay indoors today – it was dreadful weather after all, and she had gone to the effort of casting many charms to slick her hair down because she wanted to look as presentable as possible for their meal. Well, they _had _planned to have an enjoyable dinner together later that night, but no, Bellatrix had to go and drown her bloody sorrows and drag Hermione along to clean up the mess afterwards. The selfish bitch. Hermione inwardly vowed to get sweet, satisfactory revenge...she would arrange a surprise visit from Dumbledore or Snape, or she would have Crookshanks roll around in Bellatrix's wardrobe – the thought of seeing the expression on the silly woman's face after she discovered her black robes were decorated with ginger cat fur was darkly entertaining. Maybe she would set Bellatrix up on a blind-date with Filch...but that did not seem like a good idea. She did not want to put poor Argus through that torture.

"Get me another glass of nettle wine you useless half-blood!" Bellatrix demanded, her coffee coloured eyes raking over the barman in a manner of scorn and disgust, "and get my friend here a bottle of firewhiskey, she needs a little something to put a smile on her pretty face", she slurred, snaking a slender arm across Hermione's shoulder blades and edging so close that Hermione could smell the alcohol on her breath. Hermione's response was to shrug away and glare at the intoxicated witch, whom merely grinned in reply, her teeth gleaming like the Cheshire cat's.

"I don't need a dusty crate of booze to put a smile on my face, Bellatrix", she hissed, crossing her arms across her chest in annoyance, "but I would appreciate it if you stopped insulting strangers whom you know nothing about!"

Bellatrix just licked her plum-coloured lips and blew Hermione an overdramatic kiss. Then, she blew her another kiss, but this time she grabbed her wand and whispered a few hurried words, a pleased expression haunting her face. The kiss that she had blown to Hermione was no longer just a puff of air – it transformed into cartoonish red lips fashioned from tissue-paper, swirling around the space between them like a demented butterfly before it flew towards Hermione and landed in her shirt pocket, fountains of pink glitter erupting from her pocket and spilling all over her clothing afterwards. Bellatrix giggled like somebody whom had just consumed two bottles of nettle wine, numerous shots of firewhiskey and, as the bartender put it: butterbeer with a 'kick'. Hermione rolled her eyes but could not refrain from letting out a laugh of her own – Bellatrix could be quite amusing when she was drunk...well, she could be amusing sober too, but Hermione found it difficult to admit the other witch's good qualities; it was easier to just pretend that she hated her instead, which, as of late, she had not been doing a very good job of.

"Hermione, you look very pretty in the moonlight", Bellatrix purred, her tone a silky whisper, "I should very much like to cut you out into little stars", she said. Hermione could feel her face flushing from her forehead to the tip of her nose to the point of her chin, and she did not know whether to feel embarrassed, flattered, worried or a combination of all three. She stared down into her untouched glass of butterbeer, dipping the tip of her finger into it slightly and making light patterns in the frothy foam. Although she had not drunk anything, a warm feeling was creeping up Hermione's insides and consuming her, making her feel as if she were in a haze, and although she did not know quite how to describe it, she knew that she most definitely did not feel sad or upset.

"Don't think I'm saying this out of concern, because you could drink yourself to death for all I care", Hermione lied, feeling guilty despite herself, "but I think that we should go home now, because..."

_**Because I'm worried about you and I want to keep you safe.**_

"Because I'm really cold and I'm starting to feel tired", she said, wishing that she could despise Bellatrix; hoping that Bellatrix would say or do the wrong thing so that Hermione would have a valid reason to be angry with her, "so, let's go. Let's go home".

"Alright", Bellatrix said, laying down the money for both of their drinks and rising up from her chair, and Hermione wished that she would have remembered to bring her own money with her; because she hated it that Bellatrix had paid for her drink too, and she wanted to slap the elder Witch for this uncharacteristic show of thoughtfulness.

She wanted to have a big argument with Bellatrix and then storm out of the bar, making heads turn and disapproving whispers fly around the room. She wanted to go to bed angry, angry at Bellatrix and angry at the world. And then, later that night when she would inevitably wake up sweating and trembling with fear from the latest gory dream, she wanted Bellatrix to be her usual cold and indifferent self rather than the strange, night-time Bellatrix; the Bellatrix who held her closely and whispered sweet nothings into her ear, because she had started the year hating Bellatrix and she wanted to end it that way too.

Then, Bellatrix smiled winningly at her, her eyes glassy and her face shining under the warm lamplight, and then those previous thoughts shattered away piece by piece and she only thought of good things; like the way Bellatrix's brow furrowed slightly when she was concentrating on something particular or the way that the other Witch's perfume floated around the room like some sort of floral cloud, lingering in the air for hours afterwards. She thought about the way Bellatrix flourished her wand and whispered her spells like they were sacred and important, she thought about how Bellatrix respected books and _never, ever folded the pages over._ She thought about the way she left the bathroom in a complete _state _in the mornings – with blobs of congealed toothpaste crusting the sink and half a tub of bathwater wetting the floor. She thought about the way Bellatrix concocted completely disgusting and weird dishes when the house-elves were busy and the way she sat Indian-style on the floor when she was procrastinating, legs crossed beneath her and her expression dreamlike. She thought about how she had hair like a long, ebony waterfall when it was wet, and how droplets of water landed all over the floor afterwards and how she looked like a darker and more sinister version of a fairytale mermaid. She remembered the funny stories that Bellatrix had told her about when she had been a small child; about when the Black family were holding a prestigious ball and her and Narcissa had hid under the tablecloths and jabbed at people's legs with knives and forks.

Then, when she and Bellatrix Apparated away together, their hands linked like jigsaw pieces as they clung unto one another as if their lives depended on it, Hermione knew that it would be very hard to hate Bellatrix indeed. Hermione had started to realize something that was very strange and made absolutely no sense; maybe she didn't _hate_ the other Witch at all...maybe she actually _liked _Bellatrix.


End file.
